best villain

"The camera always misses my sister."

Kiritani Suguha, whose game id is [Leafa], shook her golden ponytail and said regretfully.

Hearing this, Silica, who was sitting next to her, moved her cat ears and responded:

"It's a little bit unexpected. If it was Tongzi sister, I thought she would rush out from the beginning."

Her race in the game is a cat demon, and she looks very cute with a pair of smart ears and brown double ponytails.

"No, no, that guy doesn't look like a boy who is not afraid of anything, but he is actually very thoughtful. She may be hiding in a safe place, and she will jump out after the contestants are almost finished playing and clean up one by one. .”

Klein said while sitting on the edge of the stage in the suite, waving his hands.

Kiritani Suguha, Silica, and Asuna who were sitting side by side on the sofa together——Yuki Asuna couldn't help laughing when they heard this.

"No matter what, Tongzi would not do this. With her temperament, she can't wait that long."

Yuuki Asuna expressed her opinion.

"That's right. Sister Tongzi will definitely move behind the enemy in an instant at a speed that the camera can't capture, and give the opponent a fatal blow." A little goblin the size of a palm flapped its wings and landed on Asuna's shoulder, imposingly He waved his fist and said.

Lisbeth laughed heartily at this inference that was very close to reality:

"Hahaha, that's right. And that guy is really brainless, he still uses a sword in a game dominated by guns."

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but imagine Tongzi wielding a sword.He panicked and dodged the constant rain of bullets.

The place where the six people gather is not in the real world, but in the world of the virtual game Alo.In the center of the fantasy-style Western fantasy world, there is a [World Tree] that cannot be quantified, and the sky city at the top of the World Tree-Ygdoran West City.

The monthly rent for a house here is only [-] kels, but the area is very spacious.The floor is covered with beautifully polished stone bricks, a large sofa is placed in the hall, and there is a family wine table behind the sofa.The countless bottles placed side by side on the shelf were all searched by Klein, who still maintains the personality of an alcoholic in the virtual world, from the nine goblin territories and the underground market.

Among them, there seems to be a bottle of superb wine that is 'more delicious than 30-year-old whiskey in addition to not making people drunk'.But for the underage Yuuki Asuna, of course it is impossible to understand its value.

A large floor-to-ceiling window-like glass is laid opposite the sofa.You can have a panoramic view of the magnificent scenery of Yggdoran West City.But today everyone is not in the mood to enjoy the night view.This huge glass is currently showing game scenes from other worlds.

That is - the live video of the GGO's strongest player decision meeting [the final part of the third bob contest] being broadcast live by the network broadcasting bureau 'Game Trend'.

The reason for this gathering.Is it just to cheer for Tongzi who sneaked into this competition, or is it more appropriate to condemn?Regrettably, another giant ax fighter partner, Agil, did not show his face today.Because it is a coffee shop and tavern that operates in the real world.Now is the time when there are many people.

"That's not the case. That guy Kiriko. He actually switched from alo to participate in this conference."

Lisbeth was holding a cup filled with emerald liquid, and cast doubtful eyes on Asuna.

Kiri is because of the partner within the alo.At the same time, the magister of the water elves, Chris Hayter—that is, Kikuoka Seijiro, a civil servant of the Virtual Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, entrusted him to go to the GGO world—only Kiritani Suguha, Asuna, and the artificial intelligence elf Yui knew about this. .

After thinking about it for a while, Yuuki Asuna replied:

"Yeah, Tongzi received a strange part-time job. It seems to be to investigate the current situation of the game that uses Zahid, and ggo is the only game with a 'currency exchange system', so it was chosen there because of these."

The above explanations are Tongzi's original words.However, Yuuki Asuna did not think that these were all the facts.But it's not enough to talk about lying. Anyway, Tongzi must have something to say.

But when it comes to concealing facts, Yuuki Asuna actually has them too.

For example, yesterday, Tongzi narrated in an inexplicable tone how that person fought, and what kind of posture and 'stupid' fighting IQ lost to her.According to her description, the opponent she fought with was obviously a figure that Yuuki Asuna was familiar with and had often dreamed about recently, and there was also a very real memory that didn't have that figure.

As time went by, the dream became clearer.

Sometimes, when chatting with Lisbeth and the others about some interesting past events, Asuna Yuki actually found a sense of unreality, as if it was an implanted memory.

Whenever the night approached, she would always have an inexplicable panic.

However, she never confides the truth to anyone, including her close friends including Kiriko.

Because she was very scared, once the other party worriedly asked her if she was going to the hospital, or if she was too tired recently, wouldn't it mean that all this was all self-fantasy?

No, absolutely not.

But... isn't that the case?So what is the truth?

If it was not long after the beginning, Asuna Yuki was still determined to get to the bottom of it and find out the secret of this phenomenon.

But things have come to this point.

She faintly felt that the truth seemed to be very close to her, but she dared not take a step forward no matter what.

If you take this step...

Perhaps, she will no longer be 'Asuna Yuki', no longer the self I know, no longer the Asuna everyone knows.

This invisible anxiety tormented her all the time.

Probably in a short while, she will become one, which no one can accept, no one can accept...

"Asuna?"

The sudden voice of inquiry awakened Yuuki Asuna.

"Huh? What?"

"We're discussing why Kiriko wants to participate in the bob contest...You don't seem to be looking well." Not only Lisbeth, but also Suguha and Silica looked at Yuuki Asuna worriedly.

Oops.Accidentally caught their attention.

Yuuki Asuna blamed herself secretly while smiling and said:

"It's nothing, it's just that the school's final exam is coming soon, thinking that I've been a little relaxed recently, I don't know if I will fail the exam."

"How could it be? Aren't your grades always top in the class? But after hearing what you said, I suddenly had a bad feeling. Maybe I should start reviewing." Lisbeth touched He touched his chin and said.

"Haven't you been reviewing recently!" Silica's eyes widened, exposing the truth.

"Ah ha ha..."

"Don't try to get away with it, there are extracurricular tutoring during the summer vacation."

"Eh! I almost forgot this. Damn. I don't want to go to tutoring."

Seeing Lisbeth hugging her head and groaning, everyone couldn't help laughing.

During this period, the huge screen, which is about [-] feet long when converted into the real world, is broadcasting live images in multiple ways.Because it's a shootout.Therefore, the broadcast is basically in the form of the perspective following a player.The so-called third perspective.While the virtual camera is catching up.The player's name is displayed in the lower part of the box, but the name 'kiriko' is not on the screen that has been divided into [-] parts.

"That person is so strong."

Silica just said that.A cyan figure on the screen suddenly fell down.

The id is [Pale Knight]. This player has just completed a unilateral crusade against another player, and was attacked before he had time to catch his breath.Although it fell to the ground, it was not a one-hit death.Zooming in through the lens, you can see that there is a thin current running through the right shoulder behind, and the whole person cannot move.

Just when they were stunned, the attacker appeared.

The outfit is instantly reminiscent of the word ghost, the tattered dark gray cloak flutters with the breeze, two eyes like will-o'-the-wisps flicker in the depths, and a large black shotgun is carried on the shoulder.

Find a way to block the opponent's actions and then close the distance with a fatal move-this kind of tactic is not uncommon in any game.

But to everyone's surprise, the cloaked man took out an old-fashioned pistol from his pocket.

It is also a firearm, but the damage is not worth mentioning compared to the shotgun on the shoulder.

Could it be that the opponent has no ability to fight back, so it doesn't matter to use a pistol?It made sense logically, but Asuna wasn't the only one who always felt something was wrong.

At this moment, the cloaked man made a strange gesture.

It's like a devout Christian crossing his chest.

The moment he aimed at the Pale Knight and pulled the trigger—the cloaked man suddenly raised his upper body without thinking, and saw a spot of light passing in front of him, breaking the silence at a speed that the camera had no time to capture.

A bullet hole suddenly appeared on the ground not far away.

Needless to say, this was a premeditated sniper attack, but it was a pity that the cloaked man reacted too quickly and failed.

It's just that Asuna thought of something because of his (her) previous action, and her chest was filled with a feeling of uneasiness.

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of glass breaking behind the sofa.

Everyone couldn't help but look back, only to hear Klein say in a low voice and nervously: "That guy... Could it be... No, how is it possible?"

[Smiling Coffin] —— Under the pressure of everyone, Klein revealed the name of this terrifying organization buried in the hearts of many Sao players.

Could it be that the truth behind Tongzi sneaking into this game is this?

Now everyone can't calm down.

*******************

Taking off the game helmet, Asuna had no time to say hello to her mother, got dressed and slipped out of her room. However, when she wanted to quietly open the door and go out, she accidentally ran into her father who rarely came home for a few days.Although it is past nine o'clock, it is not yet the dangerous time for girls to go out, but he ran out inexplicably at night, and as a father, Yuuki Akizo naturally couldn't pretend that he didn't see it.

"Where are you going so late?"

Facing his father's questioning, Asuna lowered her head and said:

"It's urgent to find a friend."

"Urgent? Is there something urgent that you can't contact on the phone?"

"This... Her cell phone is out of battery, and it happens that her home is not very far away, and it will take a few minutes to get there."

Asuna tried every means to persuade her father not to hinder her.

"So, what on earth is worth your special trip at night?"

It's just that Akizo Yuki is not so easy to fool. Although he is much more relaxed than his wife in disciplining his daughter, he is not in a good mood today.

"It's about some question types for the final exam."

"Well, remember to come back early."

Sure enough, when it came to studying, Yuki Akizo's attitude softened a lot.

But before Asuna let out a sigh of relief, he suddenly said:

"By the way, have you ever played the game ggo?"

"Eh?... No, my classmates and I are playing alo."

"oh, I see."

For some reason, Akizo Yuuki looked relieved.

But he still reminded him very worriedly.

"Remember, don't play that game recently."

"why?"

Asuna did not obediently respond, but asked one more question.

The reason is that the abnormal behaviors of the members of [Smiling Coffin] Shado-Pan and Tongzi are related to the game ggo, and she vaguely feels that she should be able to get some news from her father.

"You don't need to worry about it, it's just that the server has been a little unstable recently, it's not good if something happens."

Akira Yuki frowned and said.Maybe he felt that finding an excuse would be more convincing, but Asuna's sense was very keen.

"Listen to Dad, there has been an accident recently?"

"...Forget it, I'll tell you the truth." Akizo Yuki hesitated for a while and said: "The server has a virus tonight, and the company's technicians are doing their best to rescue it, but the game can't stop no matter what. Come down, not only that, it seems that the players who logged in tonight have been unable to go offline, it's like..."

"sao..."

Goosebumps all over my body.

Asuna bit her lip tightly.

She remembered that period of life that can be called the most desperate days.

Being unable to log off means that consciousness is completely separated from reality. If the whole picture of the Sao incident is copied, maybe the players who exited the duel will also...

Thinking of this, Asuna immediately left her father and ran out.

Seeing his daughter's back gradually receding, Yuki Akira loosened his brows, his expression was no longer so serious, replaced by an inexplicable guilt, he took out his mobile phone from his briefcase and dialed a number.

"It's me, Akizo Yuuki...Well, I have already disclosed the news to Asuna according to your arrangement. You should also tell me what you want to do, why do you want me to lie to Asuna? Ha? I don't care? Boy, don't be too arrogant. Although I transferred the equity to you, I am still the CEO of the company. This is an agreement between me and you. If you don't make it clear, I have my way... ..What? Damn it, you actually threatened me with Asuna, forget it, I just hope you don't hurt my family."

(Two chapters in one) (to be continued...)